Deep in the Heart of Texas

First-time novelist Elizabeth Wetmore debuts at #4 on our hardcover fiction list with Valentine, the April Read with Jenna pick. “This moving portrait of West Texas oil country,” our starred review said, “evokes the work of Larry McMurtry and John Sayles with strong, memorable female voices.” Wetmore, a West Texas native, told PW in a January interview that the book’s focus on women is intentional. “At some point I became aware that I was making a conscious choice to tell the stories of women and girls from West Texas, that their stories were strikingly absent from the sparse literature of the oil patch.”

Here’s Hoping

It’s Not All Downhill from Here by Terry McMillan lands at #13 in hardcover fiction. “This delightful novel balances inspiration for renewal with the hard facts of aging,” our starred review said. “McMillan writes with a staggering depth of feeling, credibly capturing the characters’ emotions as she unpacks their interpersonal conflicts.” The author told PW in January that on some level, all of her books are about empowerment. “There are certain things that you are willing to be patient and a little tolerant about,” she said, “and there are some things that don’t make any sense.”

Movie Watch

The Woman in the Window, A.J. Finn’s 2018 psychological thriller, has sold 857K copies in its hardcover and 2019 trade paper editions. The film adaptation was originally scheduled to open in theaters May 15; at press time, a new release date had not been set. The movie tie-in edition debuts at #3 in trade paper.

NEW & NOTABLE

WOW, NO THANK YOU
Samantha Irby
#2 Trade Paperback
As part of virtual promotions for her latest book of essays, the comedian and Bitches Gotta Eat blogger read an excerpt on Vulture Instagram Live on April 7.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
Andrew Kravis
#10 Trade Paperback
This word-search book, which pubbed in July, is by a New York Times crossword tester and fact checker. In 2013, as a recent Columbia Law School grad working in public interest law, Kravis won $2.6 million on the game show The Million Second Quiz.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MODERN CALLIGRAPHY & HAND LETTERING FOR BEGINNERS
June & Lucy
#18 Trade Paperback
Like Challenge Accepted!, this workbook, self-published by a graphic designer/mom blogger in August, has seen sales climb in the weeks since more people have begun looking for off-screen activities.